World Junior Hockey 2012: Calgary's Russian expats rally around their team

Stephen Hunt, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal01.04.2012

Calgary-based Russian expatriates Zoar Shteinbach, left, and Irina Makeeva, who run media company Voice of Alberta, and Irina’s brother Serguie prepare to cheer for their countrymen during the world juniors semifinal between Canada and Russia at the Saddledome on Tuesday.

At lunchtime deep inside the Saddledome, Tuesday has all the makings of a dream day for Calgary’s expatriate Russian community.

Zoar Shteinbach and Irina Makeeva are there to cover it all.

They, along with their partner, Kateryna Magas, are three of the estimated 20,000 to 30,000 Russian expatriates who call Calgary home these days, and are the faces behind Voice of Alberta, a small, startup media company that serves the city’s expat community.

Up at the front of a conference room, on a screen set up next to Jim Peplinski and three guys dressed as Mounties, a short film plays, extolling the virtues of Ufa, Russia, host city to the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championships.

“Ufa is one of Russia’s major transportation connection points,” the film’s narrator says, as if feeling the need to explain why anyone would need another reason to travel to Ufa.

“The hotels,” the narrator adds, “meet international standards.”

So far, so good, Ufa!

The presser, as it turns out, is only the preliminary event of a Russian dream day.

At 7 p.m., the defending IIHF World Junior Hockey champion Russians faced off against the Canadians in the semifinal, for a berth in Thursday’s finals.

For Makeeva, who emigrated to Calgary with her family from western Siberia 15 years ago, Tuesday puts the capper on a banner year for Calgary’s Russian expat community.

The year 2011 “was a good year for the (Russian expat) community,” she says. “It was the best one of my 15 years living here.

More Russian “people moved here,” she adds. “There were more events organized than ever before — sometimes three, four a week, and more and more, there are extracurricular events for Russian children, musical schools, ballet schools, and theatrical schools.”

Makeeva has the on-camera experience, since she once hosted a television show — as a 14-year-old — for teens back in Nizhnevortovsk City, in the Tumen region of Siberia.

She also studied communications and works as a media developer.

Although it was a bit of a shock to the system to move from Siberia to Calgary, she and her brother found it easier than their parents, as is so often the case.

“It’s hard for parents,” she says. “Everything is new. A lot of people struggle with it (emigrating).

“Fifteen years later,” she adds, “we absolutely love it. I enjoy every day.”

Shteinbach is the camera operator. He comes from Moldova, and came to Calgary 10 years ago, after a seven-year stint in Israel.

It was a little jarring, making the transition from Middle East to Middle Western Canadian, he admits.

“It was quite a shock for a couple years,” Shteinbach says. “It’s quiet here. People don’t rush everywhere. In the Middle East, everyone lives as if it’s their last day on Earth.

“And here,” he adds, “people don’t show as many emotions.”

Maybe not when Canada plays Russia in the semifinals of the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championships, we don’t!

A little under a year ago, Makeeva met Shteinbach when he videotaped an event for her, and together they started to brainstorm about ways in which to unite Calgary — and Alberta’s — Russian expat community.

And so was born the impulse behind Voice of Alberta.

“Our purpose was to bring the (Calgary) Russian community together,” Shteinbach says. “Russian people are scared to deal with each other. They are afraid they will get scammed.

“We want to build a centre of information (with Voice of Alberta),” he adds. “In Calgary, the Chinese community is united. The Indian community is united. But with Europeans, it’s hard — historically, they don’t trust each other.”

Calgary’s Russian “people are very, very excited,” Shteinbach says. “Especially after last year (when Russia scored five times in the third to come back from 3-0 down and take the gold from Canada).

“It’s (always) a huge moment,” he adds. “Russia-Canada — after four decades — and it’s still going, bringing pleasure to both Canadians and Russians.”

When asked if there’s somewhere that Calgary’s Russian expat community might gather to watch Tuesday night’s game, Shteinbach says, “here (at the Saddledome). Everyone wants to get a ticket.”

Voice of Alberta is primarily a website at the moment, and is also trying to wrangle a time slot on the Omni channel, which broadcasts multicultural programming.

They’re also part of a proposal to launch a radio station devoted to multicultural programming, which is being reviewed by the CRTC in early February.

Shteinbach has also been touching base with Russian expats living across Canada, hoping to form a larger umbrella media network that will connect members of the Russian community spread out across the country.

Meanwhile, Calgary has seen an uptick in Russian-themed events. There’s an art exhibition produced by Magas, of children’s art that’s being exhibited Saturday.

In February, a Russian-language theatre company is producing a play based on a trio of Chekhov short stories.

And Tuesday night, it was the latest chapter in the longest-running blood feud in international hockey, since Bobby Clarke slashed Valerie Kharlamov’s ankle, knocking him out of the ’72 Summit Series, and paving the way for the Canadian comeback.

Makeeva’s brother, Serguie, made the case that Russia would defeat Canada in Tuesday’s semifinal.

“They’re (Russia) good,” he says. “The goalie’s really good.

“It’s really hard to be away from home and win something,” he adds, “but I think Russia has something going on.”

His prediction: Russia 4, Canada 3. Not far off the 6-5 result.

shunt@calgaryherald.com

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World Junior Hockey 2012: Calgary's Russian expats rally around their team

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